Snow flotation apron for skimobiles

ABSTRACT

A generally rectangular apron of flexible material has pocket means at its forward end into which the toes of the skis of a snowmobile are adapted to be inserted. The length of the apron is substantially that of the skis and its width substantially larger than the distance from the outside edge of one ski to the outside edge of the other, the side edges of the apron being provided with eyelets so that, when the edges are turned up over the top of the ski edges and a flexible cord progressively laced across from one edge to the other through the eyelets, the apron is securely secured to the skis and provides lift from the snow between the skis.

United States Patent Savage SNOW FLOTATION APRON FOR SKIMOBILESInventor: Phillip D Savage, Owls Head, N.Y.

Assignee Hall Ski-Lift Company, Inc., Watertown, N.Y.

Filed: June 10, 1971 Appl. No.: 151,689

[52] U.S. c1. ..280/28, 180/5 R [51] Int. Cl. ..B62d 9/04 [58] Field ofSearch ..280/28; 180/5 R [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS3,482,849 12/1969 Puetz ..280/28 3,563,562 2/1971 Carlin ..2s0/19Primary ExaminerBenjamin Hersh Assistant Examiner-Robert R. SongAttorney-Bruns & Jenney [5 7] ABSTRACT A generally rectangular apron offlexible material has pocket means at its forward end into which thetoes of the skis of a snowmobile are adapted to be inserted. The lengthof the apron is substantially that of the skis and its widthsubstantially larger than the distance from the outside edge of one skito the outside edge of the other, the side edges of the apron beingprovided with eyelets so that, when the edges are turned up over the topof the ski edges and a flexible cord progressively laced across from oneedge to the other through the eyelets, the apron is securelysecured tothe skis and provides lift from the snow between the skis.

2 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures PATEN EW 3,719,369

| --1'4i---1---la-A--' INVENTOR.

PHILLIP 0. SAVAGE BY BNMIL ATTORNEYS SNOW FLOTATION APRON FOR SKIMOBILESBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to skimobiles and,more specifically to an accessory apron of flexible material adapted tobe secured to the two skis for support of the skis by the snowtherebetween.

Ski accessories in the past have comprised skis having a snow-contactingarea larger than the skimobile skis which can be secured to theskimobile skis when the snow is soft and deep. Such accessory skis arelarge and cumbersome and cannot conveniently be carried on the skimobilefor use in an emergency.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention contemplates an accessory foremergency use when the snow is soft and deep which can be quicklyinstalled and can be compactly folded and stored in the skimobile whennot in use. A generally rectangular apron or sheet of flexible andfoldable material of substantially the length of the skis has a pocketor pockets at its forward end into which the forward ends or tips of theskis of the skimobile are adapted to fit. The apron has a widthsubstantially wider than the distance from the outside edge of one skito the outside edge of the other ski so that the skimobile may bepositioned with its skis on the apron and the side edges of the apronfolded up over the outside edges of the skis. The side edges of theapron are provided with a plurality of spaced eyelets, hooks or otherlacing devices and an elastic, flexible cord is progressively lacedacross from side to side, like a shoe, to secure the apron on the skis.In deep snow, the apron supplies additional support to the skis throughits contact with the snow between the skis and, in addition, packs thissnow down so that the drive belt of the snowmobile may more easily rideup over the packed snow.

The apron is preferably made of a foldable, tough, fiber-reinforced,plastic resin material, such as Herculite or Neoprene Nylon or of canvaswhich is strong but still flexible enough to fold up into a compactbundle which can easily fit in a garment pocket or into a storage spacein the skimobile so that it is always available in an emergency.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a plan view of an apronaccording to the invention; and

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a snowmobile equipped with the apron ofFIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In FIG. 1 an apron 10 made offlexible and foldable sheet material has its forward end 11 folded backand stitched at 12 to form pocket means into which the tips of the skismay be introduced. Separate pockets 13 may be provided by stitching at14. The remainder 15 of the apron is provided along each side with aplurality of spaced eyelets 16, or other lacing devices, the overalllength of apron 10 being substantially the length of the skimobile skis.

In FIG. 2, a skimobile 18 has a pair of leaf springs 19, each secured toa ski 20. The tips 21 of the skis are engaged in the pockets 13 of theapron 10. The ortion 15 o the apron is wider than the distance be weenthe outer edges of the skis so that an edge portion 22 at either sidemay be folded up, as shown, over the outer edges of the skis.

The spaced eyelets 16 are in the portions 22 and an elastic cord 23,such as nylon cord, is laced across between the edge portions 22,through the eyelets 16, progressively from front to rear, as shown, soas to secure apron 10 on the skis. The pockets 13 engaged with theupturned skitips 21 secure the apron firmly in the direction of traveland the cord lacing 23 secures the portion 15 firmly to the skis.

The flotation of the skis equipped with apron 10, discussed above, maydecrease the pounds per square inch of the forward end of the skimobilein contact with the snow by as much as 50 percent compared to the snowcontacting area of the skis without the apron.

The steering characteristics of the apron-equipped skimobile differssomewhat from that of a skimobile with the apron in that theapron-equipped skis tend to stay parallel to the vehicle body. This isunimportant in that, in deep snow, the skimobile is easily steered by aside to side shifting of weight.

I claim:

1. An accessory for skimobiles having a pair of skis for supporting itsforward end, the accessory being adapted for increasing the support ofits front end in deep snow, comprising: a sheet of strong, flexible andfoldable material having pocket means at its forward ends into which theforward ends of the skis are engaged; the sheet being of substantiallythe same length as the skis, and being wider than the distance betweenthe outer edges of the skis; the side edges of the sheet being adaptedto be folded up over the ski outer edges; and means for securing thefolded up sheet side edges to the skis.

2. The skimobile accessory as defined in claim I having a plurality ofspaced lacing devices secured along each folded up sheet side edge, andresilient cord means for being progressively laced through the lacingdevices from one sheet side edge to the other for securing the accessoryto the skis.

1. An accessory for skimobiles having a pair of skis for supporting itsforward end, the accessory being adapted for increasing the support ofits front end in deep snow, comprising: a sheet of strong, flexible andfoldable material having pocket means at its forward ends into which theforward ends of the skis are engaged; the sheet being of substantiallythe same length as the skis, and being wider than the distance betweenthe outer edges of the skis; the side edges of the sheet being adaptedto be folded up over the ski outer edges; and means for securing thefolded up sheet side edges to the skis.
 1. An accessory for skimobileshaving a pair of skis for supporting its forward end, the accessorybeing adapted for increasing the support of its front end in deep snow,comprising: a sheet of strong, flexible and foldable material havingpocket means at its forward ends into which the forward ends of the skisare engaged; the sheet being of substantially the same length as theskis, and being wider than the distance between the outer edges of theskis; the side edges of the sheet being adapted to be folded up over theski outer edges; and means for securing the folded up sheet side edgesto the skis.